Dr. André M. Levesque, OMM, OOnt, CD, FRSA (Convocation Speaker)
Dr. André M. Levesque is a distinguished historian, community leader, and advocate for veterans. With a remarkable 35-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserves, he retired in 2008 at the rank of lieutenant-colonel. During his time with the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History and Heritage, he played a key role in planning and executing the repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier in 2000 and was later instrumental in establishing Canada’s National Military Cemetery.
In his civilian career, André Levesque contributed to planning and economic development with the City of Ottawa from 1986 to 1998. He then joined the Public Service of Canada in 2001 as a Senior Communications Advisor, managing the Canadian Forces Parliamentary Program within the Department of National Defence. By 2002, he had advanced to Chief of Canadian Forces Honours and Awards, and four years later, he became the first Director of Honours and Recognition for the Canadian Armed Forces. In this role, he led the development of comprehensive policies that transformed how defense members were recognized for overseas operations. Over his eleven-year tenure, he oversaw the awarding of more than 200,000 medals and served on numerous advisory committees, including chairing the Victoria Cross Production Planning Group, responsible for producing Canada's highest military honour.
From 2013 to 2016, Dr. Levesque was the Director General of Commemoration at Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, PEI. There, he organized national and international programs commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the Second World War. Notably, he collaborated with the French government to award the Legion of Honour to over 1,400 Canadian veterans who played a crucial role in liberating France during the Second World War. In 2016, Dr. Levesque returned to Ottawa as a visiting scholar at the Royal Military College of Canada and retired from public service in October 2019.
Dr. Levesque holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Geography from Carleton University and completed a Ph.D. in History at the National University of Ireland, University College Cork in 2013. His doctoral thesis on memorials and commemoration became the most viewed in any field, with over 44,000 downloads.
His extensive contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the Head of the Public Service Award, the Order of Ottawa, and inclusion in the Canadian Who’s Who. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK, an Officer of the Order of Military Merit, a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, a member of the Order of Ontario, and has received several distinctions from the French government, including the Order of Arts and Letters, the National Order of Merit, and in 2017, the National Order of the Legion of Honour.